Are you a cyclist? If so the recent case of Brushett v Hazeldean matters to you. Mr Hazeldean was riding his bicycle across a junction when Ms Brushett walked out in front of him while looking at her phone. Both Mr Hazeldean and Ms Brushett were injured in the ensuing collision but only Ms Brushett brought proceedings. Mr Hazeldean was not insured, didn’t believe in the “claims culture” and didn’t immediately take legal advice on the claim against him. None of this stood him in good stead!
The County Court found that each party was 50% to blame for the collision and ordered Mr Hazeldean to pay fairly nominal compensation of £4,161 to Ms Brushett. Unfortunately for Mr Hazeldean this also meant a costs order against him. He had run up legal costs of his own in the sum of around £7,000. Ms Brushett was claiming £100,000 for her costs and though the judge thought the costs assessment would be more likely to award Ms Brushett around £10,000, it left Mr Hazeldean with a very hefty bill. Had Mr Hazeldean counterclaimed for his injuries the compensation orders might have balanced each other out and each party would probably have been responsible for their own costs.
So, some good lessons here. If you’re a cyclist, you might want to think about taking out some insurance. If you’re advising someone who suffered loss as a result of an incident which has also led to a claim being made against them, make sure you advise them to slam in a counter claim!
You might be able to work this into an answer to a tort question or use it to advise some plea drafting for the LPC. Who knows if following our blogs might boost your marks!
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